Pound Nicholas, Penton-Voak Ian S, Surridge Alison K
Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Brunel University, Uxbridge UB8 3PH, UK.
Proc Biol Sci. 2009 Jan 7;276(1654):153-9. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2008.0990.
Relationships between androgens and the size of sexually dimorphic male traits have been demonstrated in several non-human species. It is often assumed that a similar relationship exists for human male faces, but clear evidence of an association between circulating testosterone levels and the size of masculine facial traits in adulthood is absent. Here we demonstrate that, after experimentally determined success in a competitive task, men with more a masculine facial structure show higher levels of circulating testosterone than men with less masculine faces. In participants randomly allocated to a 'winning' condition, testosterone was elevated relative to pre-task levels at 5 and 20 min post-task. In a control group of participants allocated to a 'losing' condition there were no significant differences between pre- and post-task testosterone. An index of facial masculinity based on the measurement of sexually dimorphic facial traits was not associated with pre-task (baseline) testosterone levels, but was associated with testosterone levels 5 and 20 min after success in the competitive task. These findings indicate that a man's facial structure may afford important information about the functioning of his endocrine system.
雄激素与雄性性别二态性特征大小之间的关系已在多个非人类物种中得到证实。人们通常认为人类男性面部也存在类似关系，但目前尚无明确证据表明成年男性循环睾酮水平与男性化面部特征大小之间存在关联。在此我们证明，在一项竞争性任务中经实验确定取得成功后，面部结构更具男性化特征的男性，其循环睾酮水平高于面部男性化特征较少的男性。在随机分配到“获胜”条件的参与者中，任务后5分钟和20分钟时，睾酮水平相对于任务前有所升高。在分配到“失败”条件的对照组参与者中，任务前后的睾酮水平无显著差异。基于对性别二态性面部特征测量得出的面部男性化指数与任务前（基线）睾酮水平无关，但与竞争性任务成功后5分钟和20分钟时的睾酮水平相关。这些发现表明，男性的面部结构可能提供有关其内分泌系统功能的重要信息。
